The C8 Chevrolet Corvette Finally Earns Its Supercar Status

A very long time ago, Harley knew that the way of the Corvette should be a mid-engined sports car. Along the way, there were only examples or prototypes of mid-engined Corvettes, never to reach production and sold to the public. Now that the new Corvette, designated the C8, has been brought to life replacing the C7 (the last front-engined Corvette), America finally has a production supercar by no other than Chevrolet.

Yes, we have the mighty Ford GT and all of its glory but it’s not as produced as Chevrolet’s Corvette and it is priced as much as the most expensive supercars on the market, leaving only the Corvette to be the most affordable supercar to purchase.

But that is not all. Unlike almost all of the other supercars on the market, the C8 is powered by a throaty and powerful pushrod V8 engine without forced induction. The base model Corvette produces a maximum of about 500 horsepower while the E-Ray (Eloectric-Stingray) produces over 650 horsepower with the combined electric and combustion engines. The E-Stingray is the hybrid-powered C8. The electric motor itself creates 160 horsepower. All of this power (electric and ICE) is distributed to all four wheels.

The performance of the C8 E-Ray does 0-60 in just 2.5 seconds (tested by Car and Driver) with launch control. It can do the quarter-mile in just 10.5 seconds. But this is all stuff you can find on paper. I want to talk about the looks. Supercars weren’t just built for number comparisons; they were built for awe-inspiring moments of desire within all of us enthusiasts.

Those moments we feel as enthusiasts when a beloved car of ours passes us by on the road and we break our necks to get to see it drive away and hope to a higher power we can hear its beautiful exhaust note. For some people, the Ferrari Enzo or F40. For others, it might have been the Lamborghini Countach or Diablo. Mine has, and always will be, the Lamborghini Aventador and Pagani Huayra. But the C8 Corvette has been rising in my list from other options. 

Why is this you might ask? It is because the C8 Corvette takes after some traditional supercar styling in the rear end while staying boldly American in the front with a sharp razor’s edge nose and front fascia. A front that reminds me of an arrowhead with eyes. A beautiful example of contemporary art blended with the likes of Picasso or Vincent van Gogh. And it moves like an arrow in the wind.

There are plenty of enthusiasts who are nay-sayers of the world of tomorrow when it comes to the end of ICE, and I am one of them.

Helping me prove my point has been Chevrolet in producing the C8 Corvette. It shows that there is plenty in the world of compromise and it is a world in which I do not mind diving into in the name of performance as long as I get to hear throaty exhaust notes of a roaring V8 whether it is sitting in front or behind me. Maybe there will be a day when I get to drive one of these Corvettes. Maybe it will be a time that will be the first-ever time I get to ride or even drive a supercar. In all of my time writing about cars, I have never had the chance to drive a supercar. I have had the pleasure of being seated in multiple. I have even sat in a hypercar before if I remember correctly. But that whole experience is for another time. 

Until that time comes, I await my chance to be able to get in and drive a C8 Corvette and live out that dream. That’s what makes a supercar so special is dreaming about driving in something that is the epitome of human advancement during that time.

To feel the G-forces and speed while having emotions dancing about your nerves while you hold your breath wondering, the engine screaming through the gears, and exhaust rumbling. All the while you are hoping that the experience you’re having will never end. And sadly, once it ends, it will be the factor motivating and getting you through until the next time you get in the seat. That is what makes me so motivated to get behind the wheel of a C8 Corvette. It is the knowledge of what I know I will experience when it is my turn to take one for a spin. I know what to expect and boy am I driven.

That is why the C8 Corvette is so special now. It is a supercar and I know that if I were still a kid, it would be on my poster as a dream car of mine next to others hanging up on my wall. And I know for a fact that there are kids today who want one for themselves and I couldn’t agree anymore. Us enthusiasts are very alike We are just kids that grew up with that same passion for cars and it never left us.

By the way, The Chevrolet Corvette has been around for almost 70 years and has supercar qualities that match the likes of Lamborghini, and Ferrari, and even close to Koenigsegg, a producer of hypercars. But the ZR1 should be considered as a supercar too.

Charles North VI is an automotive journalist who started out writing driven reviews and news on DriveTribe. He eventually found new work on HotCars after the DriveTribe site closed down. Not too long after he became a driven review writer for TopSpeed. Charles is also an automotive enthusiast at heart and has a thorough understanding of how cars function. Charles can be reached at X at @charlesnorthvi, Instagram, and LinkedIn.